Tonga’s athletes have begun competing at the Rio Olympics in the archery events with archers Arne Jensen and Lusitania Tatafu and swimmer Amini Fonua leading the way.
Arne Jensen ranked 61st out of 64 after the first ranking.
In the subsequent round of 64 he scored three against seven by Sjef Vandenberg of the Netherlands.
Jensen is a student from Nuku’alofa TGA. He is coached by Benjamin Ipsen and made his international debut in 2010.
In the women’s individual archery, Lusitania Tatafu ranked 63rd out of 64 in the ranking round. She will compete against Chang Hye-Jin of South Korea in the round of 64 tomorrow (Wednesday, august 10).
Tatafu has competed at the Youth Olympic Games in Nanking and last year took silver at the New Zealand Nationals.
Amini Fonua competed in the 100 metres breastroke, with a time of 1:06:04, coming fifth in the first heat. He is ranked 45th.
New Zealand-born Fonua competed in the London Olympics and is one of only two openly gay swimmers at the Rio Games.
Irene Prescott is scheduled to compete in the women’s 50 metre freestyle this Saturday, August 13.
Born in Australia, Prescott competed in the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Prescott.
Taina Halasima is set to compete in the women’s 100 metres on August 13.
Her appearance in Rio follows her representing Tonga in last year’s South Pacific games in Port Moresby.
Siueni Filimone is expected to run in the men’s 100 metres this Sunday, August 14.
The sprinter scored a personal best in the 60 metres at the World Indoor Games in Portland earlier this year.
Pita Taufatofua is scheduled to compete in the men’s over 80 kg taekwondo on Sunday, August 21.
Taufatofua continues to draw attention from the media, with revelations that he had been training at the South Peace Taekwondo centre in Auckland before the Olympics.
And he has been quoted by the Chicago Tribune as saying that his extremely shiny appearance during the opening ceremony was due to an over-enthusiastic assistant.
“It was being applied to me while I was holding the flag by a lovely lady behind me. She was just lathering it on and I had to ask her to stop because my shoes were starting to slip off and it was dripping down,” Taufatofua said.
Taufatofua has also found himself being asked to pose with a number of female admirers. Including President George Bush Jnr’s daughter.
The main points
- Tonga’s athletes have begun competing at the Rio Olympics in the archery events with archers Arne Jensen and Lusitania Tatafu and swimmer Amini Fonua leading the way.
- In the round of 64 Jensen scored three against seven by Sjef Vandenberg of the Netherlands.
- Tatafu will compete against Chang Hye-Jin of South Korea in the round of 64 tomorrow (Wednesday, August 10).
- Fonua competed in the 100 metres breastroke, with a time of 1:06:04, coming fifth in the first heat.
For more information
Arne Jensen (World Archery)
Youth Olympian TAFAFU wins silver for Tonga at New Zealand nationals (World Archery)
Olympic swimmer loves wearing ‘gay & lesbian’ on his swimsuit
